Italy GP. Races. Driver´s comments

Rossi: ‘We make three tight races like this. Max won one, Loris won another; it is now my turn’.
MotoGP. Valentino Rossi, 1.52´700 sec. (1st): That was a great show for everybody but it is also a great show for the riders. To see all the crowd on the hill of Mugello when it is full of people is a very great emotion. I think all the crowd are quite happy. We were all three at the front and we have a good fight for the race. I would like to congratulate Max and Loris because they ride very well. After half way through the race Max and Loris were fighting and it was possible to take some advantage. At the end I try to stay concentrated and keep my rhythm I arrive first which is good. We make three tight races like this. Max won one, Loris won another; it is now my turn. MotoGP. Nicky Hayden, 1.54´432 sec.(12th): Not a lot of fun really. I never really felt comfortable all weekend; especially with the front end of the bike. Not really sure whether it was just the fact that I was trying to learn the place or we really needed to make some big changes there. In the end we kept the front pretty much the same and I tried to ride round it that didnt really work. The race was pretty lonely and I mostly just rode around by myself. All in all a bit of a frustrating weekend. Just gotta look forward to Barcelona and keeping my head down. We aint lettin up. 250. Fonsi Nieto, 1.55´268 sec. (2nd): I made a good start and I joined Poggiali and DePuniet, but they set a very fast pace. Besides, Manuel’s bike was very fast today and after only a few laps he managed to open a gap. I tried to shorten the distance but the tyres degraded with the heat and I preferred not to take any risk and assure the place on the podium. I’m very happy for this podium finish, especially for my team who has been working very hard. This podium is a reward for them. I benefited from De Puniet’s crash; else I would have been third. Our work is starting to bear fruit and we’re getting close to them. Now we’re going to Barcelona, we’ll be racing at home and this result sets me into high-spirits to go to Montmeló. Stepping on the podium and smelling champagne is always a good experience. 250. Toni Elias, 1.56´681 sec. (6th): I’m not happy because we were not able to find solutions for the problems we’ve been having during the last races. Today, at the warm-up, the bike worked worse than yesterday. Before the start of the race, after the warm-up lap, the starting lights failed and in that moment I thought about changing the bike and taking the spare because I wasn’t convinced about how the number one bike was going to perform, but then I would have been forced to take the start from the pit lane so I finally decided not to do it. I don’t understand where the problem is. I’ve been lapping on record times this winter on this track and today I’ve been lapping three seconds slower than the leader. 250. Sebastián Porto, 1.57´006 sec. (8th): Well, we knew before we came, that we would have a bad time on this circuit due to the differences with regard to the Aprilias. But apart from that we’ve had several mechanical problems, both on Friday and Saturday as well as today during the race. The bike has given a lot of problems with the engine and the chassis, and it slid a lot. It was very hot, but that was a problem for all of us. Now we have to analyse all the information, find the causes for the problems we’ve had and find solutions in order to be back on the place we’re supposed to be. 250. Joan Olivé, 1.57´894 sec. (10th): I expected a bit more from this race because I managed to ride on seventh and eighth place during the practice. Anyway, I’m happy with how things are working out. The next race is in Cataluña, a very special one for me because it’s my home race, so I’ll do it the best I can. I have to try to improve this tenth position, because this has been the third race with this result and it’s time to improve. 250. Héctor Faubel, 1.59´044 sec. (15th): We thought it would be a good race because we had found a good setting on Friday. But despite taken the start in high spirits, yesterday’s settings didn’t help at all. It was like being in the dark and the bike worked very badly, I had never needed to fight so much, it shaked a lot. I was hoping to finish within the top ten today and the result hasn’t been good at all. We’ll have to try to solve the problems that are hindering us from moving forward before the Cataluña Grand Prix.                       125. Dani Pedrosa, 1.59´082 sec. (2nd): I’m very happy with the result. We’ve had a lot of problems this weekend and there were doubts in the garage with regard to the carburettor. I crashed during the warm-up in a very fast section and I got a headache. I was starting from the tenth place of the grid so I decided to take things calmly after the crash. I knew that I had to move forward bit by bit, to see how the rivals were doing and weigh up my possibilities. I finally finished second, and that’s a good result. 125. Pablo Nieto, 1.59´302 sec.(3rd): Finishing on the podium is always positive but I’m not completely satisfied. The race has been spectacular and very nice, there have been lots of overtakings, but it’s also been a very hard race, it was very hot and the tyres have suffered a lot. Anyway, it was important to get a podium finish this year and I hope to finish on an even higher place in Cataluña. 125. Héctor Barberá, 1.59´791 sec. (9th):I made quite a good start and my racing rhythm has been good, but we still have a problem with the engine that makes it difficult to be in the front after the first few laps. I don’t like the first point when I open the throttle, which is very difficult to control, although the bike works fine afterwards. We’ll keep on working on that, because I’m getting closer to the leading pack. I’m happy with the result considering the setback.